A student has revealed how he spent the last six years of his life preparing for the apocalypse.

Alex Mason is known as a doomsday prepper – someone who is actively preparing for a global catastrophe .

The 17-year-old stockpiles food like rice and canned goods, has taught himself survival skills and takes emergency supplies with him wherever he goes.

He has now set up an Instagram account with his friend Myles Allen, 17, to spread the word.

Explaining why he believes the world is heading for impending disaster, Alex, of New Hampshire, USA said: “All you need to do is look around you at the state the world is in today, to see how many things can go wrong."

“I hope things will get better, but I need to know how to protect myself and my family if they don’t."

The 17-year-old stockpiles food like rice and canned goods, has taught himself survival skills and takes emergency supplies with him wherever he goes (Image: PA Real Life)

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He added: “I take an emergency backpack with me everywhere I go full of supplies like water, first aid items and enough food to last me a couple of days so I can get home safely.”

Alex and a handful of his friends first got into prepping – or survivalism - around six years ago after seeing continued news coverage of atrocities happening all over the globe.

He continued: “It struck me just how many ways it could all go wrong. I had no idea at the time there were people out there actually preparing for this stuff, but as I researched, I came across a few survivalists.

“I realised there was this whole community out there.”

Alex and a handful of his friends first got into prepping – or survivalism - around six years ago (Image: PA Real Life)

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Since then Alex has busied himself preparing for the end of the world in as many ways as possible.

Rather than limiting himself by preparing for specific scenarios, such as world war or natural disasters, he tries to be as broad as possible.

Scouring YouTube and Instagram for tips, he has become self-taught in survivalism and has mastered skills like first aid, bushcraft - which includes fire starting and shelter building - and how to forage.

He has also taken self-defence classes and learned how to build basic snares to trap animals.

As soon as he gets his license, he will learn how to hunt, hoping this will make him entirely self-sufficient.

Alex has busied himself preparing for the end of the world in as many ways as possible (Image: PA Real Life)

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Their posts chronicle their adventures from when they first started out and were relatively inexperienced in survival skills, to where they are today – completely able to fend for themselves.

“We post a lot on the Instagram to help other people, sharing tips and reviewing equipment,” said Alex.

“We also share our own experiences. We venture out a lot overnight to put our skills to the test, which has been hugely educational.

“When we first started out, we ventured in the woods one freezing night, and the temperatures dipped well below freezing. We didn’t have the correct equipment at all, so we learned a lot from that about how important it is to be prepared.”

Alex has taken self-defence classes and learned how to build basic snares to trap animals (Image: PA Real Life)

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Although Alex’s friends and family all support him and say they understand his reasoning, he has faced some negativity online.

He continued: “Myles runs the Instagram with me and we kept our identity hidden at first. Then, we decided to reveal who we were, as we realised how many other people out there understand prepping, and are doing it themselves.

“Some people call us insane and mock us, but there’s also a lot of support.

“You’ve only got to look around you to understand where I’m coming from.”